Romford & GP U14’s sparkling form continues

It was a grey November morning but we had a warm welcome at Upminster RFC to play a game organised at short notice. After a respectful silence at 11am by both teams on this Remembrance Sunday and a joint training session the boys were ready to play and set off at a blistering pace. Romford attacked from the start and it wasn’t long before a heavy period of rucking led to Luke Metcalf splitting the defence to score his first of 5 tries in this game. Sam Slatford converted from the tee. Romford soon scored again after a measured kick up field by Sam Slatford resulted in another try for Luke Metcalf whose speed allowed him to gather the ball safely and touch down for the second try of the game. This intense start left Upminster slightly shell shocked but they tried to build themselves into the game. Romford’s forwards started to take control, some fantastic tackles from Connor Hardy, Harry Runham and James Mimms and Romford’s impressive speed at the ruck allowed the boys to take control. Accurate passing to the wing led to Ade Olaleye gaining possession, he bundled his way through the Upminster backs to touch down for a third try. The fourth and fifth tries both came from Luke Metcalf gingerly dancing his way through the Upminster defence who were just not quick enough to catch him, both were converted by Sam Slatford. The sixth and final try of the half came from a patient build up by Romford, a line out won by Michael Sultana and a series of running passes allowed Ryan Page to gather the ball and weave his way through the Upminster backs to bury the ball under the posts, the conversion by Ryan Blinkhorne on the stroke of half time completed the half.

Half time: Upminster 0-38 RGP

The second half was quickly underway, Upminster having regrouped tried to slow the game and take control of the ball, Upminster’s scrum improved and they battled hard but Romford were still hunting for tries, a deadly accurate pass from Shaun Kerr led to Tom O’Meara sprinting past the Upminster backs to score the seventh try of the game. Upminster really began to battle hard though and they managed to break through Romford’s defence and score their first try. Romford didn’t let this deter them though; Luke Metcalf scored his fifth and final try of the game with another conversion by Ryan Blinkhorne. The game really became a battle now, tackles were flying in from all sides but Romford would not give up, they worked their way up the pitch metre by metre and their patience was rewarded with a final try from James Mimms who crashed down in the corner, converted by Ryan Blinkhorne. Although Upminster scored again having broke the Romford line in the dying seconds of the game, the Romford boys should be proud of their efforts today, this was a complete team performance and the commitment of every team member played an important part in gaining this win – well done U14’s!

Final score:

Upminster 10
RGP 57

Tries: Luke Metcalf x5, Ade Olaleye, Tom O’Meara, Ryan Page and James Mimms

Conversions: Sam Slatford x3 Ryan Blinkhorne x3

Squad: L. Metcalf (c), H. Runham, M. Courtney, J. Rawana, R. Pooley, S. Kerr, B. Watts, R. Page, J. Mimms, R. Blinkhorne, M. Sultana, T. O’Meara, C. Hardy, L. Potter, S. Slatford, A. Olaleye, L. Palmer-Anscomb, O. Flower